Analyzing the Department of Homeland Security - Research Paper Example

? Analyzing the Department of Homeland Security al affiliation Analyzing the Department of Homeland Security Administrative ethics On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza committed the worst shooting in the history of American schools. Armed with a semiautomatic bushmaster, two handguns, and a shotgun, Adam went to Sandy Hook Elementary School and shot dead 26 people. Among those who died were 20 children aged between 6 and 7 years. Adam himself did not make it home alive either. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through its secretary pledged to conduct an investigation into the motive behind Adam’s actions. Investigations by the DHS are still ongoing, while other stakeholders in the incident representing the government have taken preventive measures. For example, Mungin & Brady (2013) write that Connecticut governor, Dannel Malloy signed a law increasing the number of guns banned by the state. In addition, background checks are to be conducted on all gun purchases, and schools allocated 15 million U.S dollars to improve their security. Parents of the murdered children, as well as other residents of Connecticut welcomed the law and called for tougher regulations to curb illegal gun possession (Mungin & Brady, 2013). On 16th April 2013, two bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston marathon, killing three people and injuring 100 others. Two brothers were suspected of being behind the bombings and one is in custody, while the other was shot dead in a shootout with police, when the latter were looking for the suspect. According to Homeland Security (2013), Mr. McCaul, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, the two brothers appear to have received help in planning the attack. The sophistication of the devices used and the timing of the attack led to this conclusion. Accordingly, investigations into the attack cover areas outside the U.S, particularly Pakistan and Afghanistan. On its part, the federal government pledged to get to the bottom of the matter, but president Obama avoided terming the attacks as “terrorism”. To the public, a day of celebrations turned tragic, especially considering that the marathoners had paid tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at the beginning of the race. According to the Center for Public Integrity’s article by Fred Schulte on “ATF’s struggle to close down firearm dealers” (2013), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) does a shoddy job inspecting dealers. Apparently, ATF inspectors may delay to inspect a dealer for as long as eight years and when they do, the inspection is not thorough enough. In cases where inspectors find dealers to have violated gun laws and revoke the dealer’s licenses, the latter usually appeals revocation. This process drags in the courts for years and meanwhile, dealers pass their business over to relatives or turn them into “personal” collection, which does not require background checks. Probably, this is the reason why people like Adam Lanza owned guns capable of killing more than 26 people in 5 minutes. There is no telling how many more people own guns illegally, and how safe the U.S citizens are. A second article by Berlow on “current gun debate may not help beleaguered ATF” addresses how the congress has played a role in ATF’s failure to control weapon use, particularly in conducting investigations. It also addresses the fact that the agency lacks funds to run operations smoothly. In addition, the current laws are too weak to recognize the role of TF in cases involving gun trafficking. Leadership influences The leadership of DHS is hierarchical in structure, headed by the Secretary of Homeland Security, who is appointed by the President, with the consent of the senate. The Deputy Secretary comes second, followed by Under Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries who head different departments. This style of leadership allows for the formation of mechanism to assess risks, and allocate funds for countering terrorism. Secondly, since some divisions within the agency can report directly to the secretary through the deputy, there are fewer chances of communication breakdown within the agency. However, the fact that the senate must approve the selection of the secretary gives political leaders the power to vote according to party interests, thus possibly jeopardizing the success of the agency. Legal decisions In enforcing regulations, the DHS has six components which issue agendas: U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S Coat Guard, U.S Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Transportation Security Administration. In carrying out these regulations, the DHS ensures that it adheres to its guiding principles and is allowed to post guidance documents which reflect the department’s views on the matter in question. One of the challenges in enforcing these regulations stems from the fact that intelligence and surveillance is difficult to conduct within the society. Profiling someone as a terrorist requires a great deal of caution, otherwise the agency might be seen to be biased on religious and ideological grounds. Another challenge is that DHS is expected to work in collaboration with the federal government, the citizens, and the private sector without favoring one against the other. When the interests of these groups collide, the DHS finds it hard to implement regulations. Strategies for Consideration to Administrative Processes In order to perform its duties effectively, the DHS through The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) which trains agents involved in protecting the country, plans on opening a state-of-the-art training facility targeted at the current generation of recruits. This is in keeping up with current trends in technology which continue to make the administration process at DHS easier. The federal government through the DHS also plans to further its partnership with Mexico regarding border security and other matters of common interest. Through this partnership, Mexican nationals will be repatriated to their hometowns instead of being exiled to the border towns, thus ensuring that these national are treated humanely. In matters concerning the cybercrime, the DHS hopes to establish a mechanism for measuring how effective the established security measures are, in partnership with the private sector (ICE, 2013). Recommendation for Improvements to Administrative Processes If the DHS hopes to succeed in carrying out its responsibilities to the nation effectively, then in dealing with terrorism, the department should be more strategic. All stakeholders should be on the same page concerning terrorism. For example, the federal government should not differ with the county governments as was the case with the Boston bombings. Touching on cybercrime, the department should partner with international actors. Fighting cybercrime in the United States alone is not enough to secure internet users. The DHS should work in collaboration with other countries to be able to counter cybercrime from outside the United States. References Homeland Security, 2013.DHS Information Sharing And Safeguarding Strategy. Available at: www.dhs.gov. Retrieved April 30, 2013. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Cyber Crimes Center. 2013. Available at: www.ice.gov. Retrieved April 30, 2013. Mungin, L., & Brady, B. 2013.Connecticut Governor Signs Sweeping Gun Measure. Available at: www.cnn.com. Retrieved April 30, 2013. The Center for Public Integrity.Homeland Security. 2013. Available at: www.publicintegrity.org. Retrieved April 30, 2013. Appendix Interview with a representative of the Department for Homeland Security Interviewer: How is the department organized in terms of administration? Interviewee: The head of the department is the Secretary of Homeland Security, followed by the Deputy Secretary. There are Under Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries who serve under the deputy, and who handle various departments. Interviewer: How does the DHS carry out regulations? Interviewee: The DHS has six major components from which regulations are derived. They include: U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S Coat Guard, U.S Customs and Border Protection, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Transportation Security Administration. These are parameters within which the DHS operates and where the department derives its agenda. Interviewer: What are some of the challenges that the DHS faces? Interviewee: Sometimes, the interests of the main stakeholders, that is, the government, the private sector and the citizens are conflicting. This places the DHS is a difficult position since the department would not want to be seen as partisan. Interviewer: What does the administration plan for the future in order to effectively deal with homeland security? Interviewee: The future looks bright for the administration of the DHS, especially considering that the department is planning on setting up a modern training center which will be in sync with current technology. This targets young recruits who have grown up in this era of advanced technology. In addition, DHS looks to partner with other countries which have common interests in as far as the war with terrorism is concerned. For example, the DHS is already working with Mexico to secure the border between these two countries. Read More